The Council met on Friday, 19 February, 2016 to discuss its investment strategy in response to a proposed reduction in funding from the Welsh Government of £1.5m (‑4.7%). This announcement marks the conclusion of the Arts Council’s Investment Review.

The main features in Council’s strategy are:

No funding cuts to any organisation currently receiving less than £150,000 of funding. This decision will benefit 24 organisations across Wales.

Four new members will enter the portfolio (Arts Alive, Blackwood Miners’ Institute, Jukebox Collective and Ystradgynlais Miners’ Welfare).

Two existing organisations (Ballet Cymru and Sinfonia Cymru) will see their revenue funding increase.

The remaining members of the portfolio will see funding reductions limited to -3.5% or less.

Two members of the new Arts Portfolio Wales (Ffilm Cymru Wales and National Youth Arts Wales) are supported through Lottery funding. The Arts Council also delegates open‑to-application funds for Writers Bursaries and Community Music‑Making to Literature Wales and Tŷ Cerdd respectively. Our funding for WJEC and Tŷ Cerdd in the current year supports our national youth performing ensembles. From 2016/17 these two amounts will be combined into a single grant to National Youth Arts Wales. Tŷ Cerdd and WJEC will continue to work together to support the activity of our national youth performing ensembles.

Prof Dai Smith, Chair of Arts Council of Wales said:

"This has been a challenging Investment Review process. Nevertheless, we were determined from the outset to be bold, brave and far-reaching. Today, we deliver on these ambitions. In spite of a further £1.5m cut in Welsh Government funding, we have been able to sustain a nation-wide network of high performing organisations. We have also protected them against the full impact of the cuts, with over a third of the portfolio not seeing any reductions at all."

The new name "Arts Portfolio Wales" recognises the value of the activities provided by these organisations in every corner of the country.

"One of the distinctive qualities of Wales is the strength and diversity of its arts. Our new Portfolio fully reflects this. We continue to champion the international importance of our national companies but we value as well the day‑to‑day work of our smaller, more local organisations. Whether large or small, these are organisations who have demonstrated their commitment to quality and who strive constantly to find new ways of encouraging the people of Wales to enjoy and take part in the arts."

Today’s announcement is subject to confirmation of Welsh Government funding to the Arts Council of Wales. The budget is expected to be confirmed in the Senedd on Tuesday 8 March.

In conclusion, Prof Dai Smith added:

"We have achieved a better outcome for 2016/17 than many had expected, but now is not the moment for complacency. Our local government partners continue to wrestle with their own funding constraints and we know that the Welsh Government faces funding pressures that extend for some years to come. Indeed, Welsh Government funding to the Arts Council has already been cut by over 12% since 2010, so any further scope we have had to mitigate cuts has now long been exhausted.

"And yet more people than ever before are enjoying and taking part in the arts. This is not an accident – it is the result of real engagement and appetite, right across Wales. If we wish to sustain the arts into the future, if we want Wales to be fair, prosperous and confident, improving the quality of life of its people in all of the country’s communities, then we, Government included, must make the informed choices that enable this to happen. The Arts matter, the Arts are central to the matter of Wales itself and the Arts make Wales matter in the eyes of the world. Our Arts Portfolio Wales will ensure both."